Eternal Bloom - Book 5 (The Ruby Ring Saga) Read online

  I knew I’d never stop feeling guilty about that, but at the moment of our wedding, I had no idea Victor was the man I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with. I had absolutely no idea I’d fall head over heels for him. “It was just a dream, but we’re together now, and you know I love you with all of my heart.” I looked deeply into his eyes. “I will do anything to make this marriage work, even if it means leaving my world. I can’t live without you, Victor.”

  He slowly traced my lips. “I just want you to be happy, Sarah.”

  “I am happy...with you.” I studied every detail of his masculine face, from his high cheekbones and strong jawline to his full lips, sapphire eyes, and midnight-black hair. He still stole my breath away. I touched Victor’s face and slowly kissed his lips. “I love you so much.”

  “And I love you more than life itself.” He pressed his lips to mine gently and tangled his fingers in my hair as emotion consumed us. Then, he touched my belly. “How is our son?”

  “Bending it like Beckham,” I joked.

  “Excuse me?”

  I laughed. “He’s kicking like a champ.”

  “I feel it!” Victor took me into his arms, letting out a long sigh of relief to know our baby was healthy and very much alive in there.

  An hour passed, and still we hung there. I propped my head on Victor’s chest, using it as a pillow, and he wrapped an arm around me. I could hear his heartbeat; I loved being that close to him. My hair spilled across his chest, and he played with the stray strands, curling it around his fingers. He smiled when I looked at him and ask, “Finding creative ways to make the time pass, huh?”

  He looked up and caught my eye. “You have the most beautiful hair,” he said, toying with the short ones at the nape of my neck.

  “That title belongs to you, my king.” I wove my fingers through his thick, wavy, glorious locks.

  We both smiled at each other. Even if the chief planned to throw us in a volcano or tying us to a totem pole and lighting us with tiki torches, we weren’t about to spend our last few moments pouting and complaining. I felt the softest pressure of his lips against mine, and then he lifted my hand to his lips and kissed every finger. He held my hand loosely in his, and we talked about what we thought the chief might do. We came up with all kinds of scenarios and couldn’t stop laughing. I could have spent hours listening to Victor giggle.

  Time passed. We’d been hanging for hours, and my legs were cramping something awful.

  Finally, twigs snapped, and footsteps approached, followed by voices below us.

  “We’ve got company,” I said.

  We were hoisted down and landed with a thud as the net opened.

  I slowly stood, stretching out my stiff legs and arms, tingling all over as my circulation returned.

  A tall, dark-skinned warrior with long black hair and black eyes approached, accompanied by other warriors armed with crude spears. The one facing us had longer hair than all the others, and he appeared to be in his sixties. He was as muscular as Victor and wore a beaded buckskin shirt trimmed with white fur and loose-fitting leather pants, as well as an extravagant headdress with the whitest feathers I’d ever seen. His face was decorated with white paint in various patterns and shapes. He gazed down at me and said, “You have trespassed on sacred ground.”

  “You speak English?” I asked, amazed.

  “I speak many languages,” he responded. “I am very old and wise.”

  By the tone in his voice, I detected hidden meaning; I assumed him to be centuries old, but I dared not ask.

  “We mean no harm,” Victor explained. “My wife is dying, and we have been told you might be able to help us.”

  “Why not let nature take its course?” the chief asked. “It’s the natural way.”

  I stepped forward. “Because I don’t want to die.”

  “Everyone must sooner or later. It is part of the cycle of life.”

  “I’m not human.”

  “Hmm.” He smiled. “I am glad to know you will admit that to me. Honesty is very important here.” He reached his hand out and waved it around in the air. “Yes, your Immortal energy is very strong. I felt it the second you landed on the island.”

  “Strong or not, it’s killing me,” I said.

  “It is at least three times stronger than your husband’s. How is it that you are even still alive?”

  “I took pills and—”

  He waved his hand in a big circle, cutting me off. “Yes, I can feel it. The child is taking the brunt of the energy.”

  “I’m due very soon.”

  “When you have the baby, you will lose your buffer. All the energy will transfer to you, and you will die.”

  “Please!” I begged. “Can you help us? Time is running out for me, and we’ve exhausted every possibility. You’re our last hope.”

  “So you have come for the healing flower?” the chief said.

  “Yes,” I answered.

  “What are your names?” he asked, looking at both of us.

  “I’m Victor, and this is my wife, Sarah.” Victor then went on to calmly explain our circumstances in more detail.

  “You may call me White Coyote,” the man said. “I am the chief of this most pure and sacred island.”

  Victor held out his hand, and White Coyote shook it. The chief then stared at Victor, as if he was contemplating whether or not he should help us.

  “And what is the unborn’s name?” he asked.

  “Alexander,” I said. “I love our son more than anything in this world. Please have mercy on us, Chief, and help him to have a mother to raise him and bring him up on a moral and righteous path. I must be there for him.” I bowed at his feet, my voice wavering. “It is up to you now. My life and my son’s wellbeing is in your hands.”

  “Your story touches my heart. Even still, we don’t give out the flower to anyone who asks for it,” White Coyote said.

  I refused to take no for an answer. “I will be forever in your service, indebted to you. What is it that you’d want me to do?” I asked. “I’ll do anything, pay anything. Just name your price.”

  “Our son must have his mother,” Victor said, emotion flooding his voice. “Please help us.”

  I couldn’t help but admire my doting husband. He always made it very clear how much he loved me. I smiled as a breeze ruffled through his dark, messy hair. He would fight for me until the very end, and I couldn’t have asked for a better soulmate.

  A few tense moments passed; a knife could have cut the tension in the air. My heart pounded as I awaited White Coyote’s answer.

  “I am touched by your love for your son.” He then turned to Victor. “Your passion to save your wife’s life is great,” White Coyote finally said. “I admire how you have fought for her, even when you were outnumbered by my warriors. You fear nothing, and your spirit is brave.”

  “I will do anything to save her,” Victor said with heartfelt sincerity.

  “The love you share is pure, true, and unconditional,” White Coyote said. “I can feel it. And your need is genuine.” He placed his hands on my belly, then met my gaze. “Your child is different. He is...special.”

  “Will you help us then?” I pleaded, a tear streaming down my cheek.

  He nodded. “I will, for your son is destined to have both his mother and father.”

  Happiness overwhelmed me, and I burst out in a sob as Victor squeezed my hand. Gazing up at him, I couldn’t stop grinning. We’d finally found someone who could help, and it was the most amazing feeling in the world. My heart melted even more when I saw how happy Victor was.

  The chief shifted his stance. “You must be bathed and properly dressed, and then I will direct you on what to do next.”

  I nodded, and a few of the women led me away. After I bathed and covered my body with sweet-smelling natural oils, they brushed my long hair and left it loose, hanging over my shoulders and held back with a white beaded headband. I was given special clothes to wear, a white deerskin dr
ess with beaded trim and long white fringes. A pair of matching moccasins adorned my feet. Victor was dressed in a white buckskin deer garment that village men wore on only the most special of occasions. Not only did we have to be clean, but they said we had to wear “pure” outfits because we would be picking the purest of flowers. Victor didn’t even complain about it; I’d forced his fine physique into so many modern-day fashions that he was used to wearing things he didn’t want to wear.

  Once we were dressed, White Coyote walked us to the edge of the jungle. “Look for the temple. I will meet you there.”

  I wondered why he wouldn’t just lead us there, but I didn’t complain. I just nodded my head, thanked him, and took off into the vegetation, wondering what secrets the island would reveal to us with its eternal bloom.

  Chapter 18

  For the first hour of our jungle trek, we climbed over thick undergrowth and ducked under ferns in silence. I hated not knowing where we were going, but White Coyote wanted to keep us in suspense for some reason. I heaved myself through a narrow opening in the leafy ferns and bent over, bracing my hands on my knees as I fought to catch my breath. Victor draped his arm around my middle, and I smiled.

  “How are you, my love?” he asked.

  I leaned back against a tree. “We’ve been hiking for a long time. Do you think we’re even going in the right direction?” My voice came low and raspy, barely audible in my throbbing ears.

  Drops of sweat beaded his forehead. “Let’s walk for a while more.”

  I wiped the perspiration off my brow and continued.

  “Does this remind you of your adventures with Beth?” Victor asked.

  I smiled. “It does. The only difference is this huge stomach of mine.”

  “Your body is beautiful,” he said, stopping for a minute to admire me.

  I gently pushed his hair out of his face and gave him a peck on his sweaty cheek. “Thank you, Victor.”

  He pushed through clusters of large-leafed plants.

  “Beth and I used to travel the globe chasing Bigfoot. I thought when I settled down with you, my adventures would be over forever, but obviously, they’re not.”

  “Sarah,” a familiar man’s voice whispered in my ear.

  I stopped mid-stride, my heart pounding. “Victor, did you hear that? It was...I just heard Ethano!”

  Victor’s brows furrowed above his intense blue eyes, and the wind whipped through his black hair. He glanced around, his eyes wide. “I didn’t hear anything.”

  “He so enjoys playing head games with me.” Anxiously, I brushed away the ferns, leaves, and vines and stepped over fallen logs, ever alert for signs of danger. “He’s here, Victor!” My heart continued to pound. I inched closer to get a better look, crushing a few twigs under my shoes. “I know he’s here, but I-I don’t see anything.”

  Victor put on a brave, composed face and spoke words of encouragement, but it didn’t help. I would never forget that evil voice. It had silenced, though, and I wondered if it had been just my imagination playing tricks on me, a symptom of stress and fatigue. If it really had been Ethano, I was sure he would have already attacked. Still, I had the creepy feeling that he was there with us, and I had no idea why.

  I craned my neck, trying to see over giant blooming plants. I parted the large fronds and peered through. My heart jumped when I saw a flash of gray through the vegetation. When I peered closer, I noticed a large, weathered, stone structure overrun with plants, covered with moss and cracked by time and erosion, entwined in thick, twisting jungle vines for centuries. Tree roots were burrowed into the walls, and rope-like vines and ivy wrapped around gateways and huge pillars. The stone steps were covered in moss and lichen. I could have sworn I was on the set of an Indiana Jones movie, only no one had a bullwhip.

  “It appears to be quite abandoned...and ancient,” Victor said. “This must be where we’re supposed to meet White Coyote.”

  I nodded. “I wonder why he chose this place.” I stared at gigantic trees and vines engulfing the building. I wondered about the ancient builders and why they had built the structure. As I studied the temple closer, I began to recognize the pillars and designs. The archway was decorated in symbols that made the hair on my neck rise, and the connection came to me all at once. When it did, my jaw dropped. It was the same temple Ethano had tricked me into entering the night he’d tried to sacrifice me. A monstrous wave of panic washed over me, and the whole thing suddenly stunk of a plot. It had that fiend’s name written all over it, and that terrified me. “Victor,” I said, gripping his arm, “this is Ethano’s temple, the same one where he tried to kill me. It’s just older now, as if a couple centuries have passed by.”

  Victor shifted his stance, worry lines evident in his face.

  I held my stomach and breathed deeply. “I don’t like this one bit.” The more I thought about it, the more frantic I became. “What if there’s not really a cure? We don’t know Jackson that well, and trusting him took a huge leap of faith. Do you think he just delivered us straight into Ethano’s hands? Maybe White Coyote is in on it too.”

  He peered intently around him, looking for any signs that I might be right. “Sarah, we will only find our answers inside that temple.”

  I gasped. “No! Victor, we were lured here under false pretenses. Can’t you see that?”

  He shook his head. “I refuse to believe that.”

  “If the flower is a myth, there’s no hope for me. I should have stayed home, where I could spend my last days with you, my family, and Sparky.”

  His eyes sparked with confidence as he tried to reassure me once again. “We mustn’t give up hope,” he said. “We’re here now, and we must press on.”

  “No, Victor. We need to run,” I said, my heart racing.

  “This is one fight I won’t back down from.”

  “Of course not, because you’re too stubborn for your own good. You’ve been squabbling with Ethano for centuries, but this is no time for a pissing contest!” I said angrily, wanting to leave.

  He ignored my insult and walked directly toward the ancient structure. “If he’s here as you say, I will find him.”

  I took a deep breath and tried to regain my composure. I knew once Victor had set his sights on something, there was no way I could change his mind. “Wait!” I said. “I’m coming with you.” But when I tried to follow him, it was as if I’d hit a brick wall, a force field of some sort. I took a step back and pounded on the invisible wall. When I spun around to leave, I felt the same shield. Someone had incased me in an invisible bubble, like the one Ethano had imprisoned me in a couple of times, once at Liz’s castle and once during that horrific ceremony. I inhaled deeply and blinked hard several times. “Victor!” I yelled.

  He rushed over, frantic with worry. “What happened?”

  Panic fluttered in my stomach as I banged on the invisible walls all around me. “I’m trapped.”

  Victor felt around, then pounded it with his fists. It was as if I was incased in titanium, and nothing could break its defenses.

  “What’s happening?” I yelled frantically. “Is it Ethano?”

  He shifted his stance and exhaled. “I don’t know.”

  “It has to be! Victor, what if Jackson is working for Ethano? What if this was nothing more than an elaborate scheme to lure me to the temple so he can finish the sacrifice?”

  His eyes widened in fear as he contemplated my thoughts. “That isn’t possible, Sarah. He wants our son alive.”

  “Maybe he changed his mind.”

  “It would never work. Alexander’s life force kept his plan from working in the first place.”

  “You know how dedicated his priests are to studying those ancient scrolls and books. What if they found another way?”

  He flashed me a worried look. “We must get you out of there.”

  I placed my hand flat on the invisible force field, and Victor placed his hand over mine. I couldn’t feel anything but a humming energy from where I touched the
barrier. I gazed deeply into Victor’s eyes; he was clearly frightened because he couldn’t get me out.

  “Victor!”

  I cringed at the familiar sound of Ethano’s voice. His shoulder-length, blond hair blew in the wind. He was dressed in an oversized, burgundy shirt with billowing sleeves, and a leather vest, with black pants, brown boots, and big belt.

  Victor’s lips tightened into a grim line, realization visible in his eyes. “Let Sarah go. This is between you and me, you ogre.”

  “Have you told your lovely wife what this is all about? Why I hate you so much?”

  Victor glared at him.

  Ethano continued, “You haven’t? Tsst, tsst, tsst,” he said, clicking his tongue. He smiled, then turned to face me. “Sarah, how do you feel about your husband keeping secrets from you?”

  “I will not discuss my marriage with you. Let me out of here, you monster!”

  “Surely it does not make you happy that he hides things.”

  I let out a huff.

  He eyed me up and down. “You look divine, by the way, so lovely in white leather.”

  I rolled my eyes at him.

  “Do not talk to my wife in that manner!” Victor roared.

  I stared into his cold, green eyes. “Let me go,” I demanded, “and quit egging my husband on.”

  Ethano held my gaze in his caustic emerald stare. “I’d love to let you go, but that’s up to White Coyote, not me.”

  Right on cue, the chief burst through the vegetation.

  A shudder shot up my spine. Did he betray us? Was he working with Ethano all along? Did he send us here for Ethano to catch us? But why? He already had us captive in that stupid net! My head began to spin, and nothing made any sense. I pointed to Ethano. “This man has tried to kill me numerous times. You said this island is about purity, and he is the farthest thing from pure. He is the devil!”

  “Sarah, how could you say such things?” Ethano asked. “You even agreed to bed down with me, even while you were still married. Perhaps that white purity dress is wasted on you, my dear.”